Monday, September 20, 2010

Black Fleece F/W 2010

Oh man, what can I say about Thom Browne that hasn't been said hundreds of times already? Forget it. Thom falls squarely into the always interesting "loved or hated, but never ignored" sartorial category. Yes, he's as important to menswear as anyone these days. And yes, Thom's shit is quite often out of control. His Black Fleece line for Brooks Brothers has always been easier to swallow (aka more wearable) than his eponymous line so it's something I at least pay attention to. Black Fleece's appeal, in my eyes, has always rested firmly on specific pieces and not on overall collections. There are always great shoes, shirts and neckwear - Brooks Brothers wouldn't let Thom mess that up. Anyhow, Black Fleece's F/W 2010 looks have just popped up online and it's more of the same. Killer pieces that when combines are a tad shy of overkill. For example, doubling up on plaids is one thing, but rocking with three incarnations of the pattern is just plain ridiculous. What can we take away from this? Shorter pants look best with boots. Turtlenecks, when done right, can be extremely stylish. And, patchwork flannel most definitely can look stupid.

I agree, I have purchased alot of oxford shirts from different companys and the blackfleece Oxford (aside from regular Brooks) is an excellent shirt. The fabric is super strong and beefy but yet still very soft. The fit is great and another very important point, the length of the shirt is hands down the best I've seen ever!! Alot of blogs fail to mention black fleece when talking about Oxford shirts and focus on regular Brooks but they don't know what they are missing!!! And I've recently been to the store in NYC and Their new fall shirts are amazing.

Browne is such a turd who believes his own press. Boring and pretentiou and it simply makes for nice, contrasty photos...not even...pictures. He's like the guy who pulls out EVERY sexual position on the first date---sure, it's exciting to be associated with, but ends up being a one trick pony who blows too quickly.

I saw all this stuff in a Black Fleece store and was... less than impressed. A lot of it is over the top in a bad way, and there are comparatively few pieces that would be more generally useful to a wardrobe. If you want to look like a christmas gift, though, be my guest.

Perhaps the Black Fleece collection is not designed for you boring trads. It is the most fashionable branch of the Brooks Brothers brand and as such has to compete with international high fashion designers who don't do SAFE like a lot of you meek personalities seem to.